Apparatus for purifying and disposing of sewage



W- C. FERGUSON.

APPARATUS FOR PURIFYING AND DISPOSING 0F SEWAGE.

APPLICATION- FILED JULY 221 1 Pat-entd Ma 3 1,1921.

WWW

[ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM c. FERGUSON, or s1. LouIs, MISSOURI.

APPARATUS FOR PUBIFYING AND DISPOSIN'G OF SEWAGE.

To allwhom it may concern:

Be itjknownthat I, WILLIAM C. FERGU- soN, ajcitizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Aparatus for Purifying and Disposing of ewage, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to sewage disposal apparatusof the type in whichthe separation of the solid particles of the sewage from the liquid is effected by sedimentation.

In sewage .disposal apparatus of the general type above referred to now in use the raw sewage is introduced into a settling chamber wherein the liquid is maintained in a quiescent state so as to cause the heavy solid particles of the sewage to settle out of the liquid by gravity and enter a digesting chamber or sludge chamber wherein the process of digestion and fermentation takes place. While sewage disposal apparatus of the general type referred to that are now in use are efficient in that they eflect theseparation ofthe settleable solids, they have no means for effecting the separation and removal from the settling chamber of the floating sludge that constitutes a large percentage of the solid matter in the sewage and which is composed of the light solid particles, of the sewage that rise to the surface of'fthe liquid in the settling chamber and form'a scum thereon. Moreover, sewage disposal apparatus ofthe general type referred to frequently produce an effluent that is stale and has'a very oflensive odor, due to the fact thatthe liquid of the raw sewage that is introduced into the settling chamber becomes polluted by coming in directflcontact either with the stale liquid in the settling chamber on which the scum .floats or particles of sewage in the scum that are undergoing fermentation.

' One, object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for purifying and disposing of sewage that will effect the separation of a t the solid particles of the sewage from the liquid without producing a. stale efiiuent that has an offensive odor.

j Another object is toprovide an apparatus Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 31, 1921.

Application filed July 22, 1919. Serial No. 312,620.

for purifying and disposing of sewage that will effect the separation and removal from the settling chamber of not only the settleable solids in'the sewage, but also the floatmg sludge formed by the lighter solid particles of the sewage that are carried upwardly to the surface of the liquid by the bubbles of air and gas in the sewage.

To-this end I- have devised an apparatus, which, briefly described, consists of a chamber, compartment or passageway through which sewage flows and which is arranged in a lower horizontal plane than the conduit through which the sewage is supplied to the apparatus, so as to cause the lighter solid'particles of the sewage in said chamber that are carried upwardly by the inherent bubbles of air and the gas generated by the decomposition ,of the sewage'to escape from said chamber, and a secondchamber, compartment or space for'receiving the floating sludge formed by the lighter solid particles of the sewage that are floated off or separated from the liquid by flotation.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a top plan view of one form of apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view of said apparatus taken on the line 2+2 of Fig. 1. r

F 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2, taken on line 3-3 of Fig.1.

Fig. A; is a top plan view of another form of apparatus embodying my invention; and r I Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional View of the apparatus shown inv Fig. 4, ii ken on approximately the line 55 of Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings which illustrate one form of apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention, A designates a chamber through which sewage flows, and B designates a second chamber Which I will refer to as a sludge cham her that is adapted to receive the solid particles of the sewage which are separated from the liquid in the chamber A by sedimentation and by flotation. The chamber A is so arranged with relation to the inlet pipe 1 through which the raw sewage is introarranging the chamber A inside of the chamber B and at a point below the inlet and outlet pipes. The lighter solid particles of the sewage in the chamber A will be carried upwardly by the bubbles of air and the gas generated by the decomposition of the sewage and will escape from said chamber A into the chamber B through a discharge opening an in the upper end of the chamber A, as shown in Fig. 2. The heavier solid particles of the sewage in the chamber A that settle out of the liquid by gravity will escape from said chamber A into the chamber B through a discharge opening 3 at the lower endof the chamber A. It will thus beseen that the chamber A virtually forms a combined flotation andsedi-, mentation chamber and that the chamber B virtually forms a sludge chamber for the settleable solids and for the floating sludge.

In view of the fact that the lighter solid particles of the sewage which are separated from the liquid in the chamber A by flotation, are conducted out'of said chamber A and confined in the chamber B, there is no liability of the efliuent that escapes from thechamber A becoming polluted by coming in contact with a mass of stale liquid on which scum floats or particles of solid sewage that are undergoing fermentation. Accordingly the effluent that is discharged from the chamber A through the efliuent discharge pipe 2 will be fresh and practically in a clarified state. .Moreover, as

. provision is made for separating and collecting not only the settleable solids, but also the floating sludge, the apparatus is more eflicient than apparatus of this kind now in use which have no means for separating and recovering the lighter, floating solids which form a large percentage of raw sewage.

The chamber A can be formed conven-' iently by arranging diaphragm wall or par tition plates 3 longitudinally of the chamber B at a point below the upper edge of the chamber B and below the horizontal por tion of the inlet pipe 1 through which the raw sewage flows into the apparatus and the horizontal portion of the eflluent pipe 2 through which the efiluent is discharged from the apparatus. In the'form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3 the chamber A is formed by four diaphragm walls or partition plates 3 arranged so that they form a two plates or members 3 that form the top wall or upper halfof-the chamber A can be mounted on hinges 4: and sustained byfstops 5 on the end walls of the ch'amberjB so as to enable the chamber A to be opened up to facilitate the inspection ofsame. The sedi ment or sludge composed of the .settleable solids that collects in the bottom of the chamber B. can be withdrawn from same through a suction pipe 6" provided with a controlling valve 6 and having its lower-end terminating adj acent the. bottom of the chamber B, and the scum orfloating sludge. that collects on the surfaceof the liquid in.

the chamber Bcan be removedfrom same at intervals b scraping sameinto a sludge discharge chamber C over a skinnning weir) 7 arranged at the upper edge ofthe chamber B in proximit to the sludge discharge chamber C, as s own in Fig. 2.

In the apparatus shown in Figs. l to 3,...

the combined. sedimentation and flotation chamber is arranged in the sludgechamber in such a manner that it is surrounded by or submerged in the liquid in the sludge:

chamber. This is not essential, however,

for if desired, the apparatus can be provided wlth' a combined flotation and'sedimentation chamber A arranged at one side of a sludge,

chamber B and having its upper and lower ends connected with said sludge chamber by discharge passageways d and 4/, as shown,

in Figs. 4 and'5.

Having thus described my-inventiom wh'a't I claim as new and desire to secure by'Let-f ters Patent, is:

1. An apparatus for purifying and. dis;

posing of sewage, COIHPIlSHIg EL-COII'1blI1ed sedimentation and flotation chamber, a raw;

sewage inlet pipe, an effluent dischar e pipe, said chamber communicating with zontal plane than said pipes, a sludge chamber adapted to hold a body of 'liquid'whose level is above the upper end of said flotation and sedimentation chamber, and passageways leading from the upper andllowerends, of said sedimentation and flotation chamfg ber to said sludge chamber.

2. An apparatus for purifying and'di'sfposing of sewage, comprising a flotation, and sedimentation chamber arrangedin; a

lower horizontal plane than the "conduit said pipes and beingarranged in a lowerhori-fl through which the sewage is supplied latchamber, and means for permitting the sedierally to the apparatus, a sewage discharge ment in the bottom of said sludge chamber conduit leading laterally from said chamand the scum that floats on the top of the 10 ber, a sludge chamber, passageways that liquid in said sludge chamber to be removed connect said sludge chamber with the upand introduced into said sludge discharge per and lower ends of said sedimentation chamber.

and flotation chamber, a. sludge discharge WILLIAM C. FERGUSON. 

